


Pierced

by bloodamber



Series: Umbrella Academy - Missing Scene's, Fix-its & Indulgent Ramblings [5]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Body Modification, Brotherly Bonding, Diego is scared of needles, Gen, Klaus is a good bro, Needles, Nipple Piercings, POV Diego Hargreeves, Phobias, Piercings, Pre-Canon, cause he is a tough boy, so he gets a piercing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25536685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodamber/pseuds/bloodamber
Summary: “Why did I let you talk me into this again?” Diego grouches as he follows Klaus down the sidewalk.“Because it will be fun!” Klaus throws over his shoulder in response, already bounding ahead with eager anticipation.“You and I have very different definitions of fun.”OrDiego gets his nipple pierced in an attempt to overcome his fear of needles, and Klaus is there as his not entirely terrible moral support.
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves
Series: Umbrella Academy - Missing Scene's, Fix-its & Indulgent Ramblings [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697917
Comments: 6
Kudos: 102





	Pierced

**Author's Note:**

> This fic exists because of [this](https://bloodamber.tumblr.com/post/624606871942234112/diego-has-a-nipple-piercing-and-you-cant-change) glorious image of David Castañeda.

“Why did I let you talk me into this again?” Diego grouches as he follows Klaus down the sidewalk.

“Because it will be fun!” Klaus throws over his shoulder in response, already bounding ahead with eager anticipation.

“You and I have _very_ different definitions of fun.”

“Come on, Deigo, I thought you wanted to do this!” Klaus stops and turns to face him with raised eyebrows. “Unless you’re chicken?”

Diego scoffs, shoving his brother when he starts to cluck and flap his arms and continues walking the half a block they have left to get to the tattoo parlor.

Klaus lets out a loud cackle, clearly pleased with himself, and catches up with Diego as he reaches the black door covered in painted skulls and roses.

Swallowing back his nerves, Diego pushes open the door and steps inside, Klaus right on his heels.

The interior of the store is dim, the walls completely plastered in tattoo designs, ranging from masterful to downright tacky. A couch takes up a wall to his left and on a low table in front of it are open books with more designs inside. 

There is no one else in the store beside them, and Diego considers turning around to walk straight back out, already feeling his palms begin to sweat. But Klaus is in between him and the door, and Diego knows he would never near the end of it if he bailed now. 

He still vividly remembers the day, not long after their 12th birthdays, when their father had announced they would all be getting tattoos. 

At first, he had been excited, the inked symbol feeling like an initiation into something much grander. Marking him and his siblings as part of something special. But after watching Klaus and Allison suffer through getting theirs he had approached the chair with wary trepidation and it had taken all his will power not to pull his arm away when the tattooist had started. 

The pain in itself had been bearable, more than used to the sharp touch of a blade, but the sensation of the needle punching into his skin over and over had sent him into a cold sweat, suddenly feeling light-headed and queasy. 

He had toughed it out through sheer force of will, resisting the strong urge to puke or cry and refusing to accept any sort of comfort from their mom, needing to prove himself under the stern gaze of his father. But the whole ordeal had left its mark on him and from that day he had been unable to look at needles without feeling faint and sick. 

It was in a word, _humiliating_. 

A superhero who threw knives, scared of needles. Needless to say, his father had not been pleased and Luther had mocked him mercilessly for it anytime a situation presented itself that required needles – like the stitching of a wound or the drawing of blood. Diego would always find himself out cold, waking to his mother's cold touch of his brow and have to endure Luther’s teasing remarks for days afterward.

No matter how much he tried to fight against the feeling it didn't work and so Diego learned how to work around it, averting his eyes and distracting his mind when the need arose to be near one, even as he felt ashamed at himself for being so weak.

Just recalling the memories has his stomach swoop unpleasantly and Diego wonders why he thought this was a good idea in the first place.

But before he can make an excuse and leave, there is the sound of approaching footsteps.

Diego turns his head from the designs on the wall to see a large man exit the back room, dressed in jeans and a black singlet that reveals the multitude of inked designs running across his shoulders and down his arms. 

He gives Diego a quick once over before his gaze swings across to Klaus, a smile transforming his features into something more friendly.

“Klaus! Long time man,” he greets with a familiarity that doesn’t surprise Diego. He already knew his brother had tattoos, despite the obvious age restrictions and their father’s strict rules that Klaus had become an expert in flouting.

But since last year… since Ben… things had changed. 

The Umbrella Academy had become fractured. Even more than when Five had disappeared – because that had been his own choice and they all liked to believe he was out there somewhere. 

But with Ben, that had been permanent and _horrific_ and they had all been there to see their brother in his last moments – when the Horrors won the battle for control.

Reginald had barely seemed to care, only giving them a week to mourn before ordering them back into training and sending them into missions as though nothing had changed.

But everything had. The blind obedience to their father that had been drilled into them since birth had been destroyed. And any shred of respect Diego had still harbored for his father had vanished when Ben’s death had been used as motivation to work harder.

The first one to go off the rails had been Klaus, who had started experimenting in increasingly heavier drugs and sneaking out of the house at all hours.

Allison had then declared her plan to go to Hollywood and become an actress and even Vanya had made some noises about leaving, her violin skills securing her a place in a prestigious music school.

Diego himself would be leaving soon, having received his approved application to the Police Academy the previous week. Something he had yet to share with the rest of his siblings. So this was his last chance to rebel while still under his father's power. A final middle finger to the old man before he left for good. And so he had mentioned in passing to Klaus that he wanted to get a piercing, and now here they were.

“I’m not here for me this time, Raf,” Klaus responds, reaching out to pull Diego closer with an arm around his shoulders, as though realizing Diego’s courage was failing him. 

“My brother here wants to get himself a piercing!”

"First time?" Raf is looking him over like he is surveying a canvas.

He nods, words failing him. 

"Well if you come to the desk we can get that sorted for you. Where are you wanting it?"

"My nipple," Diego says after a pause. He knew most people would simply get an ear pierced but he wanted something he could keep hidden and out of the way while on missions. He also couldn't quite manage the thought of having a needle so close to his face.

Klaus turns to Diego with a shocked expression that quickly morphed into a grin.

"Diego! I never knew you were so kinky!"

Diego glares at his brother, trying to fight the rising heat in his face.

"I'm not– it's not– "

"It's okay Diego, your kinky secret is safe with me." He mock whispers and Diego shoves him.

“It’s not fucking kinky, stop saying that.” He hisses at Klaus who grins and taps the side of his nose with a finger. 

“ _Of_ _course_ not, my dear Bruder.”

“I will walk out of this shop if you say another word.”

“No, no, I’m sorry.” Klaus backtracks at the threat, clutching at Diego's black t-shirt – one of the few shirts he had that isn't branded with the umbrella logo he had come to hate.

He shakes off Klaus's grip before Klaus can stretch the fabric and steps up to the desk where Raf was waiting with the forms, willing his hands to stop shaking with nerves.

–

Once all the paperwork is done and money handed over they are ushered by Raf into one of the backrooms.

“Take off your shirt and have a seat while I get things set up.” Diego does as instructed, perching himself on the edge of the plastic-covered seat, fighting the urge to curl in on himself and taking calming breaths to quell the nerves. He could get through this. It was just one small needle. He had suffered worse during training or out on missions. He would be _fine_.

“Alright, which side are we piercing?”

Diego indicates the left side of his chest and watches as Raf rolls around him, dragging a tray on wheels with him that had an assortment of medical instruments on it.

Diego eyes them with distrust, but Raf simply picks up a black marker and leans in close, placing two dots on either side of Diego's nipple.

"I'm just marking where the piercing will sit so I get it straight," Raf explains, probably feeling how tense Diego had gone. Diego nods and forces himself to relax as much as he could.

Raf picked something up from the tray and held it up for Diego to look at. It was a small straight metal barbell about an inch in length

"This is the piercing. You can switch it out for another style once the piercing has healed if you want." Diego nods. That didn’t look too bad.

"Okay, for this next bit I'll get you to lay back. It's safer that way if you decide to faint on me."

"I'm not a fainter," he bites back, daring Klaus to try and contradict him but his brother is thankfully silent.

To prove his point he swings his legs onto the table and lies back, crossing his ankles in feigned nonchalance. Even so, he can’t get himself to look at the tray as Raf gets everything set up for the procedure.

Instead, he studies the ceiling, counting the cracks and stains he can see in the plaster as he feels the cold sensation of an alcohol wipe being passed over his left nipple, causing it to pebble in the cold air.

This was fine. He could do this.

Then he feels the cold touch of metal on his chest and looks down to see Al holding some sort of clamping device over his nipple. 

"What the hell is that?" He demands, shifting away from the contraption.

"A clamp to hold the nipple in position while I push the needle through."

Raf then holds the needle up to show him and Diego has to quickly look away before he makes a bigger fool of himself.

“Wow, that is a _big_ needle,” Klaus comments helpfully and Diego squeezes his eyes shut, focusing on breathing in and out to calm his now racing heart. 

“You good to continue?” Raf asks.

“Yes.” He forces himself to say, even though he feels sick at the prospect of that needle going through his body. Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea after all.

But never one to back down from a challenge, he grits his teeth and prepares for the worst.

A cold hand grips his own and he jerks at the unexpected touch, looking over to see Klaus seated next to him.

"You'll be fine. Just don’t look at it," Klaus advises, and yeah, no shit. Diego knows he shouldn't but he can’t help wanting to keep the offensive object in his sight at all times.

But then Klaus starts babbling, telling Diego ridiculous stories about getting locked out of the Academy and his creative ways to get back in without alerting Pogo – most notable of which included Klaus nearly decapitating himself by knocking over a suit of armor that was on display in one of the many hallways.

It doesn’t entirely distract him from the unpleasant sensation of having his nipple clamped and when he feels the sharp pinch of the needle as it goes through his flesh Diego is sure his grip on Klaus’s hand will leave bruises.

Thinking the procedure is done Diego makes the mistake of turning his head to look back only to see the needle still pierced through his nipple. 

He is unable to tear his eyes away from the sharp tip even as he starts to feel faint again, dark spots appearing in his vision and his body breaking out into a cold sweat. 

Klaus is calling his name but Diego only has time to think, ‘ _oh, shit_ ’ before everything goes black.

–

Blinking open his eyes, Diego squints up at the ceiling in confusion for half a second before remembering what had happened. 

He lets out a groan, so much for overcoming his aversion to needles.

“Oh man, you were out for ages!” Klaus says with a laugh as Diego pushed himself up into a sitting position, noting a blanket had been draped over him.

“Then why didn’t you wake me?”

“I was a little busy,” Klaus lifts his right hand and freshly inked lines spelling out the word ‘hello’ on his palm.

“You got a tattoo?” 

“Actually, I got two.” Klaus lifts the other palm and Diego sees the word ‘goodbye’ inked across the other palm. 

“How very on-brand.”

“I thought so,” Klaus responds with a grin, looking extremely pleased with himself. 

Diego tugs the blanket off, hissing when the fabric brushed across his chest, his left nipple throbbing sharply at the action.

Looking down, Diego blinks at the sight of the metal barbell now pierced through his nipple.

Thankfully the sight of the barbell through his flesh doesn’t trigger any sort of reaction and despite the whole embarrassing fainting spell, Diego feels glad for going through with it.

“It looks good.” Klaus offers, “it will go with all the black leather you wear now.”

Diego throws the blanket at Klaus in retaliation and hops off the table, pulling his shirt on as Raf wanders back into the room.

"Ah, you're awake.” The comment has Diego flushing with shame, his reaction not going unnoticed.

“No big deal, son. Happens more often than you think.” Raf reassures before moving on. “Now, before you head out I’ll give you the stuff you need to take care of that piercing and some ointment for your brother."

Diego is grateful for the subject change and soon they are back on the street with their aftercare supplies, wandering back to the Academy. Although neither of them is eager to return in a hurry, knowing there would be punishments for their unexplained disappearance.

Klaus is talking a mile a minute, waving his plastic-wrapped hands around while Diego grunts the occasional response and lets his mind wander, feeling more at peace within himself than he had for a while.

It has only been a few hours since they had first entered the tattoo parlor, but Diego feels like a completely different person. 

With every shift of his arm, his t-shirt brushes against the new piercing, the area hypersensitive but the steady low throb of pain a comforting reminder that he has control over his own life. And after a lifetime of being exactly what his father demanded him to be, it feels good to have done something entirely for himself. 

It feels like he is reclaiming his body and with it, his own sense of self. 

He is no longer his father’s Number Two – a child soldier disguised as a superhero.

Now he can simply be Diego.

**Author's Note:**

> A bit fluffier than my usual fics, but I needed something to balance the angst of writing 'death of me'. Hope you enjoyed! ♥︎  
> (Also, sorry for the repost! I screwed something up and felt it would be easier to just start from scratch 😂)  
> –  
> Come find find me on **[tumblr](http://bloodamber.tumblr.com/)** or **[twitter](https://twitter.com/bloodamber26)** and scream about the imminent release of S2!!! JSKLVKNKBJERRKGBWIKB LESS THAN A WEEK AHHH!


End file.
